Maybe you’re letting your hair grow a bit longer these days since you’ve been socially distancing from your barber (and you’re a little concerned about the way your spouse or partner is eyeing up that hair trimmer). Or you’ve just decided to try a new longer style. Either way, it’s probably time to brush up on your blow-drying skills. We talked to pro stylists Johnny Gaita of New York’s Chris Chase Salon and Gina Rivera, founder of Phenix Salon Suites to get some pointers on how to pull off award-winning hair. ​

How to Choose the Right Hair Dryer

Gaita emphasizes that it’s worth making an investment in a good blow dryer. “The difference between an inexpensive $20 dryer and a $100 to $200 version is astronomical. The amount of time saved — and effectiveness — is night and day. My go-to brands are Sam Villa, Elchim, or Dyson.”

“It’s very important to select the right dryer,” concurs Rivera, who’s also created her own infrared dryer. “Someone who has never used a hair dryer will be most comfortable with less drying time.”

You’ll also need a good brush to help with styling. Although you can use your fingers, Gaita recommends a brush for more control. For coarse hair, she recommends sturdy nylon bristles, but for most hair types, natural and plastic bristles from brands like Creative Professional or Denman offer great value. If you’re looking to treat yourself, you can’t go wrong with Y.S. Park, a Japanese purveyor of quality grade brushes.

How to Keep Your Hair Healthy While Blow Drying

Once you’ve chosen your weapons of choice, it’s time to consider some complementary product to make sure that your hair remains happy and healthy while being exposed to the heat and added stress of styling. 

“Consider your activity levels,” says Rivera, who also has her own haircare line. “ If you regularly workout, you may need to wash your hair a bit more frequently. Cleansing the scalp comes into play with this situation. Scalp health is extremely important and part of maintaining a healthy scalp includes ensuring the hair follicles remain healthy and unclogged.”

“Your hair’s texture should be considered as part of your routine,” says Rivera. “If you have coarser hair, you may need to wash less frequently. Sometimes over-washing results in drying out the hair and eliminating natural oils. Use a good conditioner to start with to prevent fly-away hair.  It’s also good to use products such as a serum if you want to reduce volume. Include a deep conditioning treatment such as a mask in your regimen to add an extra boost of moisture. Coarser hair should be deep conditioned once a week; finer hair; every other week.”

How to Blow Dry Properly

“Generally speaking when drying your hair you should push it forward toward your eyebrows, then back and forth (left and right) on the head and back toward the crown until you get your hair as straight or as smooth as you like it,” says Gaita. 

Rivera emphasizes that, of course, the cut is going to influence your hair’s styling. Assuming you’ve already got that handled, she says “For a natural, looser casual look, using your fingers works perfectly. For more volume, tip your head upside down while drying. For a sleeker look, use some styling serum, and style the hair with your brush or comb, drying your hair from the top down. 

“That’s when you add a little touch of product and you’re good to go,” says Gaita. “I always suggest that guys throw a ski cap on for ten minutes or so in the direction of how you want to wear it to help get rid of excess fluff.”
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Rivera suggests using a good finishing spray that “allows some movement but also provides just the right amount of hold. For a sleeker look, use a styling gel and comb to slick the hair down.”

Click into the article here for recommendation on blow dryers, brushes, and styling products. 

5 Tips To Keep Your Hair Up All Day

I’m someone that really prides myself on having big hair. Big hair with volume that stays up. I don’t want it to drop if I have spent long enough to get my hair right, I want it to stay up all day long.

Follow these 5 top tips to keep your hair up all day.
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Tip 1: Haircut
Behind every great hairstyle is a good haircut. If your hair is too thick or long then your hairstyle will drop and fall.

• Keep hair shorter in the back and longer in the front, this allows for elevation.
• If the hair is thick, cut into it or slightly thin it so it can stay up.

Tip 2: Pre-Styling
The key to having voluminous hair is to use a pre-styling product on damp or towel dried hair.

• Use a hair mouse or a fiber and activate it with a blow dryer.
• For fine hair, use a hair thickening cream or spray and activate it with a hairdryer.

Tip 3: Styling
It’s important to also pick the right hair styling product. You will want to avoid gel products as they can become heavy and greasy in the hair.  Also, avoid anything that’s too waxy or oily.

• Clay products will be your friend as they are perfect for styling as they are the best for keeping your hair up all day.

Tip 4: Layering
Make sure to always layer your product. If you start off with too much product, the hairstyle will fail, even if the product is top quality. Layer the product and build up the structure.

• Start with a pea sized amount of the product and then go from there.
• Brush the hair root to tip building it in then swiping it up into the hair.
• Repeat this process adding a little amount of product each time.

Tip 5: Fixing
I know some people don’t like using fixing or finishing sprays but if you have fine hair, what will help you the most is hairspray.

• Spray your hand with the hairspray and brush at the surface of the hair. This will help to tame any flyaways.
• Finish by blasting the hair all over.
• Remember: Hairspray is a fixing product, not a styling product.

These tips are from Man for Himself

I looked high and low for an easy how-to video for you guys on how to make it through until your next haircut. Your important areas are going to be around your ears and your neck.  I found this video that's pretty straight forward on trimming up around your ears and neckline.  It's Hi-Tech using either a webcam or your phone. A hand-held mirror works just fine, too.  If you have someone to help, that's even better.  Just remember if you do this yourself it's a reverse image so take your time. ​

There is a lot more to think about right now than hair but it’s more than just hair. It’s also about the people that do hair. One of the many industries impacted by the coronavirus is hair and beauty services. Even before public health orders closed down barbershops and hair salons in some states, many barbers and stylists closed voluntarily to be safe.

How long it will last is hard to say but optimistically, it could be only until the end of April. Some barbershops are still selling gift cards and hair products online or booking future appointments. That is a great way to support barbers at this time.
Now, what to do with your hair until barbershops reopen? Like many things in life, you can go with it or take matters into your own hands.

The good news is it’s a great time to grow hair and/or a beard. Even if you have video meetings for work, the small size and blurry camera will hide most of the awkward phase. The same is true if you try to cut your own hair.

Here’s how to take care of your hair at home while self-quarantining.

Just a note, this is for all those work-at-home, self-quarantined, social-distancing people. If you’re out there working through this crisis, thank you and be well.
 
 
Wait it out.
Depending on how long the closures are, this could be an opportunity to grow hair out and try a longer look. Go with the flow and rock the flow haircut. Or embrace that mullet. In the meantime, use some product to keep hair out of the face or if locks are long enough, try the man bun.

Buzz it off.
Some guys are used to keep hair trimmed all the time. If that’s you, the easiest at-home, do-it-yourself haircuts is the buzz. Pick a guard length and go for it. Start with a longer guard just in case the results feel shorter than expected. Try one of these trimmers.

At home haircuts.
While we don’t often recommend trying to cut hair at home, there is no choice right now. There are some excellent Youtube tutorials available to guide you through step by step. Try to find one showing the cut you want and go for it. Even better if you can enlist some help for the sides and back. If you’re doing this yourself, stick to the fringe area.

And remember, haircutting scissors are much sharper than regular scissors. That means two things. One, use them so you don’t damage hair. And two, take care not to cut yourself.

Get hair inspiration.
Even if you can’t get hair cut or the cut you want, this won’t last forever. Keep checking out this site and Instagram for hair inspiration. With longer hair, you may be able to try a look you never considered before.

Grow a beard.
Well, all the sports seasons are off but you can still grow that play-off beard. Whether it’s your first time with facial hair or not, check out these tips for growing a beard to keep the process looking and feeling good.

That should do it. 

Stay 6-feet apart out there and wash your hands!